The Adaptive Mind What Is Classical Conditioning? What Is Operant Conditioning? What Is Observational Learning? Reflexes Reflexes are simple, inflexible (we can t stop them), and are not learned through experience. Argosy Publishing, Inc. Instincts A baby kangaroo will climb into its mother s pouch immediately after it is born, with no help or instruction. Instincts are not learned but are much more complex than reflexes. kjuuurs/photos.com. 1
Learning Type of Learning Cognitive Process Associative Nonassociative Observational Form new connections among stimuli and behaviors Change the magnitude of responses to a kind of stimulus Learning by watching the actions and experience of another Examples Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning Habituation Sensitization Imitation What Is Classical Conditioning? L01 L04 L05 L06 L07 L08 L02 L03 Analyze the components of a classical conditioning experiment, identifying the unconditioned stimulus, conditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, and conditioned response. Evaluate whether a classical conditioning scenario has the features needed to produce acquisition of a conditioned response, extinction, spontaneous recovery, conditioned inhibition, generalization versus discrimination, and/or latent inhibition. Classical Conditioning Does your pet come running when it hears your car? andipantz/istockphoto 2
The Unconditioned Stimulus and Response Unconditioned Stimulus Unconditioned Response The Conditioned Stimulus and Response Conditioned Stimulus Conditioned Response Acquisition L02 L03 L04 L05 L06 L07 L08 The bell must ring just before the steak appears. Dogs only learned the association when the UCS and CS were close together in time. Cengage Learning 2013 3
Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery Generalization vs. Discrimination of Conditioned Stimuli Why does your pet only run to the door when it hears your car, not other cars? This is a problem of generalization versus discrimination. What Is Operant Conditioning? L01 L02 L03 L04 L05 L06 L07 L08 Differentiate operant conditioning from classical conditioning and implement operant conditioning principles in real-life learning scenarios (e.g., training a pet or child). Compare and contrast positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment in terms of learning process and effects on behavior. Analyze the ways in which animals evolved instincts appeared to constrain learning in some studies of classical and operant conditioning (e.g., Garcia & Koelling, 1966; Breland & Breland, 1961). 4
Twiggy, the Waterskiing Squirrel Waterskiing lessons began as a joke, but Twiggy was soon famous. Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images Operant Conditioning The outcome of practice is successfully riding a wave. Matt Cardy/Getty Images How does Operant Conditioning Differ From Classical Conditioning? Classical Conditioning Association between conditioned & unconditioned stimuli Organism responds to environment Behavior is reactive Best with involuntary behaviors Operant Conditioning Association between behavior & consequences Organism acts on environment Behavior is instrumental Best with voluntary behaviors 5
Classic Research: The Skinner Box A Skinner Box is a modified cage with levers or buttons animals could press or peck. Cengage Learning 2013 Types of Consequences Add stimulus to environment Remove stimulus from environment Increase behavior Positive reinforcement Negative reinforcement Decrease behavior Positive punishment Negative punishment Positive Reinforcement A dog that begs is given a treat; it will learn to beg more often. Phil Date/Shutterstock 6
The Premack Principle High priority behaviors (such as eating M&Ms) can be used to reward low priority behaviors (such as eating carrots). Carolyn Jenkins/Alamy M. Itani/Alamy Caveat: The Overjustification Effect A child who is not allowed to eat dessert until his vegetables are finished may come to like vegetables less! Carolyn Jenkins/Alamy M. Itani/Alamy Positive Punishment A kitten that scratches is scolded; it will learn not to scratch. Kuzmin Andrey/Shutterstock 7
Negative Reinforcement A woman hits the snooze button on her alarm; she will start hitting the snooze button more often. Poulsons Photography/Shutterstock Negative Punishment A girl who breaks a rule has to give up her phone (removing privileges). Steve Debenport/iStockphoto Test Yourself, Part 1 Scenario: A child starts screaming in a boring store; the parent offers to go for ice cream as soon as they re done. 1. 2. 3. From the child s perspective, Ice what Cream is the consequence of screaming? What type of consequence Positive is Reinforcement this? More likely, because screaming Is the child more or less likely to scream in the next boring store? was rewarded before. 8
Test Yourself, Part 2 Scenario: A child starts screaming in a boring store; the parent promises to go for ice cream as soon as they re done. 1. 2. 3. From the parent s perspective, what is the consequence of promising the The ice cream? child stops crying What type of consequence Negative is Reinforcement this? Is More the parent likely, more or because less likely to promising offer ice cream the ice next cream time the removed child screams? the unpleasant screaming Test Yourself, part 3 Scenario: A child starts screaming in a boring store; the parent ignores the tantrum. 1. From the Neither child s perspective, reward what nor is the punishment consequence of screaming? 2. Less likely, because screaming Is the child more or less likely to scream in the next boring store? is no longer rewarded In operant conditioning, extinction occurs when a learned behavior is no longer reinforced Continuous vs. Partial Schedules of Reinforcement: Reinforcing a behavior every time it occurs vs. reinforcing behavior sometimes, but not always 9
Fixed Ratio Schedules In the garment industry, workers are often paid by the piece. (or set number) Behavior tends to drop immediately after a reward, and speed close to next reward SCPhotos/Alamy Slot machines pay off after a variable number of plays. Variable Ratio Schedules leads to rapid and consistent increase in behavior Tetra Images/Photoshot Fixed Interval Schedules Interval Schedules: Emphasis is on ratio of reward to time The reward is given after a set amount of time Example: Patient-controlled painkiller medication has a required delay before the next dose (e.g., 1 hour) 10
Variable Interval Schedules The reward is given after a variable amount of time. Behavior is slow to increase, but steady holbox/shutterstock Back to Twiggy Twiggy did not just hop on waterskis one day, and get a treat. Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images Possible Twiggy Training Approach Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Reward for sniffing at skis (not on water) Reward for walking on skis Reward for standing up on skis Reward for holding waterski bar Reward for doing 1-4 near pool of water Reward for actually waterskiing 11
The Limits of Operant Conditioning Keller and Marion Breland s raccoons preferred washing their coins to depositing them in piggy banks. IrinaK/Shutterstock Albert Bandura s Bobo Doll Study Pow, right in the nose! Sockeroo, stay down! Albert Bandura/Stanford University Albert Bandura/Stanford University Observed Reward and Punishment The other half saw the woman scolded by researchers. Madlen/Shutterstock Half of the children saw the woman rewarded with candy. Lisa F. Young/iStockphoto 12
Imitation of Aggression Albert Bandura/Stanford University Albert Bandura/Stanford University Albert Bandura/Stanford University Albert Bandura/Stanford University Learning Principles in Relationships Your behavior influences the way others behave toward you. Catherine Yeulet/Photos.com 13